


Lottery of Fools

by JuliaDeVille



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-03
Updated: 2016-01-20
Packaged: 2018-04-07 11:37:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 16,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4261953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuliaDeVille/pseuds/JuliaDeVille
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felix surprises Clone Club with presents and lottery tickets. When one clone wins, she become a completely different person. Her actions could destroy Clone Club forever. (Possible Trigger Warnings - Implied violence/abuse)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Felix returned home to his apartment to find his sisters waiting for him. Sarah, Cosima, Helena, Alison, and Delphine were all sitting around his living room, talking and listening to 1970s era reggae music. 

“Hello ladies,” he said with a smile. “I’m glad you’re all here. I wanted to talk to you all.” 

“It’s always nice to hang out, Felix. We don’t spend enough time together as a family,” Cosima said, laying in Delphine’s lap. Cosima’s head was on Delphine’s hip. Delphine’s hand gently played with Cosima’s dreads. 

“I agree. We really should do this more often. I could make arrangements with Donnie to have him take the kids out for the night and we could turn this into a regular event at my house.”

“Of course you want to have it at your house. You just have to be the hostess every time, eh Alison?” Sarah said. 

Alison just glared back. 

“Well,” Felix said, resuming command of the conversation, “as you may or may not remember, today marked the three year anniversary of us all coming together as the original Clone Club. Over that time, we’ve learned a lot, we’ve done a lot, and we’ve seen a lot. We’ve all grown as people and become a family.

“So, to celebrate, ladies, I’ve bought you all some items that I think you’ll enjoy.” 

Felix walked over to the closed and pulled out a series of boxes. Each one had individualized wrapping paper that he made himself. It was a labor of love for each of his sisters. 

He started with Alison. Her package was wrapped with paper containing soccer balls, soap, and campaign posters. She opened the package slowly, to keep the paper intact. 

“Oh, how thoughtful,” she said. She pulled out a scarf, a series of colored hair ties, a coffee mug with Bubbles’ logo on it, a photo of Alison and Felix together, and a lottery ticket. 

Sarah was next. Her box was wrapped in paper containing leather jackets, motorbikes, and monkeys. Inside, she found a new jacket, some new boots, and a lottery ticket. 

“Thanks Fe.” 

He smiled and handed the next box to Helena. It was wrapped with baby dolls, tow trucks, and pictures of food. Inside, Helena found a leather jacket, a motorcycle helmet, a candy bar, and a lottery ticket. 

“Thank your Brother Felix,” she said, admiring the new jacket. 

Delphine was next. Her present was wrapped with puppy dogs, eskimo pies, berets, cigarettes, and wine. Inside, she found a bottle of wine, a package of cigarettes, two berets, a coupon book providing free eskimo pies, and a lottery ticket. 

Cosima was the last one to receive her package from Felix. Her’s was adorned with eskimo pies, test tubes, marijuana leaves, and various chemical names. When she opened her box, she found a textbook, a coupon book for free eskimo pies, a pair of Birkenstock sandals, a bong, a pipe, and a lottery ticket. 

“Right on,” she said, admiring her new bong. 

“So, Felix,” Alison said, wearing her new scarf, “why did you choose lottery tickets? I mean, that doesn’t really seem like anything any of us would ever purchase.” 

“She makes a good point,” Delphine said. “People who win the lottery are often times less happy than those who did not win at all.” 

“I just don’t see any of us really needing the money that badly. I mean, Delphine and I have our jobs at DYAD. You have your artwork that’s selling like hotcakes lately. Sarah has money flowing in from various organizations trying to stop other organizations since she became super spy extraordinaire. Helena has all of Thomas’s wealth, as well as Jesse’s salary now. Alison has her… enterprise.” 

“Oh relax, it’s just in good fun. I doubt any of us would win anyway. It was just something to throw in as a goof.” 

“Should we make a pact, just in case one of us does win?” Alison asked. 

“I think pact may be good idea. Keep people from being naughty.” 

“There is no reason for it. The chances one of us would win are astronomical. We should just enjoy the rest of the day,” Delphine said. 

“Sounds good to me,” Sarah said as she cracked open a beer. “Pizza, beer, family… what more could a clone ask for?” 

“I’ll drink to that,” Cosima said. The group all raised their drinks together, toasting to their coming together. 

Little did they know they were on the verge of being ripped apart from within.


	2. Chapter 2

“It’s almost time for the numbers,” Alison said from her seat in Felix’s living room. 

“Alison, sweetheart, I’m glad that you’re excited for the drawing, but please, stop yelling across my flat. Okay? Thanks.” 

He rolled his eyes after chiding her. She pouted in her seat. “I just wanted to make sure no one missed it.” 

“We’re not going to miss it,” he replied. 

“I don’t really care one way or the other,” Cosima said, taking a pull off her new pipe. “Chances are that none of us will win anyway.” 

“She is right,” Delphine added. “The odds of winning the lottery are similar to being struck by lightning.” 

“How does lottery work? You get piece of paper and then you get dollars?” 

“Not exactly,” Delphine said. “There is a machine that contains all of the numbers from zero-zero to nine-nine. The machine bounces all the balls around using compressed air. Someone presses a button and a ball shoots up a tube. That ball’s number is the one your ticket must have in that location.

“For example,” she said as she began drawing on the back of an envelope, “let us say the first ball is 22. Your ticket must have 22 as the first number. If it doesn’t, then you lose. If it does, you wait for the next ball. The process repeats for a total of six balls. If all six balls match your ticket, in order, then you win the jackpot.” 

“Balls choose winner by lucky air?” 

“In a way, yes.” 

“This is okay to you?” Helena asked. “Why would anyone do this?” 

“Greed,” Sarah said, joining the conversation. “People are greedy, so some other people decided they’d create a system where people have the chance of winning money while, collectively, spending far more on tickets than the prize money paid out. Thus the people running the lottery get rich, most people stay the same or get poorer, and maybe one person has the winning ticket and makes it rich. Maybe.” 

“Is chance no one win lottery?”

“Aye. Happens from time to time. No one buys the winning lottery combination and the prize money rolls over to the next drawing. Meanwhile, everyone has to buy another ticket. That’s how the lottery people want it to go. They get money for literally nothing.” 

“Shh! They’re about to draw the numbers,” Alison said. The excitement hung on her voice. Felix shot her a look. Alison looked away quickly. She did not want to be chided again. 

Everyone’s attention turned towards the television. A blond woman in a silver sequin dress stood next to a giant machine that looked like a popcorn popper. A colorful winding tube ran from the machine to a bowl where the woman would pull the number from. 

In the background, armed guards stood holding metal briefcases. Flashing lights and sparkling images made up the foreground. At the bottom of the page, a red-and-white bar at the bottom displayed the numbers inside white circles. 

The first ball came through the tube. The hostess grabbed the ball, placed it between her index and middle fingers, and displayed it towards the camera. She smiled as she said, “Thirteen.” 

Thirteen appeared on the bottom of the screen in black. 

“Shoot,” Alison said, ripping up her ticket. She frowned. Delphine, Felix, and Sarah also were out of the running for the $150 million dollar prize. 

The process repeated until all of the numbers were presented. 

13 - 21 - 74 - 11 - 67 - 19

Helena’s ticket was a bust with 21. 

Cosima checked her ticket again and again. She couldn't believe her eyes. She handed the ticket to Delphine.

"Oh my heavens! Cosima, do you know what this means," she asked rhetorically. She didn't wait for an answer. "You just won the lottery! 

"Everyone, look," she said, showing off the ticket. "Cosima won. She's a multimillionaire."

A chorus of "congratulations" rang out from the assembled member of clone club. Everyone was jubilant and happy. A celebration began when Felix turned on some music. Everyone began dancing and singing around the flat. 

Everyone except Cosima. She sat there, looking at the ticket with disbelief. It hadn’t sunk in yet that her life was about to change dramatically.


	3. Chapter 3

“I keep telling you, the money isn’t going to change me,” Cosima said as she ate lunch in the DYAD cafeteria. “I’m going to keep working here. I’m going to keep my car. I’m going to stay here in Toronto. Nothing has changed except my bank account balance.”

“Congratulations,” a random co-worker said, passing by. 

“Thanks,” Cosima replied reflexively. It was the hundredth random person to congratulate her in the two weeks since she’d won the lottery. 

“I am just worried about you. People who win the lottery, they often find themselves broke and unhappy after two years. They spend all of the money on foolish things. They hurt the people they love. The turn into bad people. I do not want to see that happen to you,” Delphine said before biting into her turkey and cheese sandwich on French bread. 

Cosima looked up from her bowl of tomato soup with shredded cheddar cheese. “I promise you, I won’t be one of those people. Just trust me, okay? 

“Look,” she said, trying to reassure Delphine. “I received the check twelve days ago. The money has been in my account all that time. I bought gas for my Beetle, paid my rent, and ordered a new pair of boots from Amazon. Hardly the surge in spending people have after they win the lottery.” 

“Just be careful.”

“Shit, Delphine, I have more money in my account now than I did when I deposited the check. I promise you, the money won’t be an issue.” 

“I trust you,” she said, returning to her sandwich. 

“Good. Now, I did want to get your opinion on something.” 

“What is that?”

“I was thinking about getting a house. Nothing fancy. Just a small place not too far from DYAD. A place with a bit more space, maybe a yard. A couple of bedrooms and a fancy kitchen.” 

“Why would you need all of that space?” 

“I was hoping of asking someone important to move in with me.” 

“I think Sarah has other plans. Moving into a house with you probably wouldn’t be a high priority.”

Cosima laughed a little. Soup almost flew out of her nose. Once she’d regained her composure, and wiped away a soup boogie, she tried this again. “Not Sarah. You. I was going to see if you wanted to move with with me.”

“You want me to move in with you?” 

“Well, yeah. It’s not like anyone has ever seen your apartment. We’re always at work or Felix’s. We spend all our time together. This way, we could share our stuff, share our space, see each other all the time without having to add the commute.

“So, what do you say?”

Cosima leaned forward on the table. She supported her head on her hands with her elbows on the table. She smiled and batted her eyelashes as she waited for Delphine to reply. 

“I do not know what to say.” She looked at Cosima with bewilderment. 

“Say yes.” 

“I need time to think.” 

“Take all the time you need. You’ve got until tomorrow afternoon.” 

“That is not much time. Why so soon?”

Cosima leaned back in her chair and shrugged. “No reason. That’s just when I talk to the realtor about this property on Hamilton Way. Five bedroom, four bath, two car garage, half-acre with a white picket fence. You know, the Canadian dream.” 

“That is very fast, Cosima. I do not think I will be able to give you an answer by then.” Delphine was overwhelmed. 

“Well, just let me know. There will be plenty of space when you say yes.” She leaned forward again and smiled. In her sultriest tone, she said, “And you will say yes. You’ll always say yes.” She licked her lips and winked. 

Delphine’s face flushed. She turned the same shade of red as Cosima’s lipstick. “I will think about it. That is all I can promise.” 

“Sounds good. I have to leave early.”

“Why are you leaving early? Has something happened? Is there a problem with one of the clones?” 

Cosima shook her head. “No, nothing like that. I am just helping Scott with a project.”

“Scott is involved? I have not heard from him since he left DYAD to start that video game company. How is he doing?”

“He’s fine. Company is really coming along. They’ve got some demos out there and secured some funding to get their games produced. They’re probably another year or two away from having a real release and some income, but it’s coming along. He’s very excited.”

Delphine leaned forward, looking Cosima up and down. “So what is this project that you are working on together?”

“He’s doing some 3D model rendering for one of his demos. I volunteered to put on the green suit with the white tennis balls so they can capture my motion.” She raised her eyebrows and smiled while biting her bottom lip slightly. 

“Well, you two have fun. I have to be the adult and do some real work.” She collected her trash and cleaned her place at the table. She stood up, holding all of her debris in her right hand. Cosima pecked her on the cheek. 

“I’ll see you later. Let me know about that living together thing.” Cosima began walking away from Delphine. 

Delphine nodded. “I will. I just need some time. It may be a few days.”

“Tomorrow afternoon,” Cosima said, waving behind her back as she left the cafeteria. 

“Tomorrow afternoon,” Delphine whispered to herself. In the pit of her stomach, she had a bad feeling about this. No matter which way she chose, she knew things would not work out the way Cosima was intending them. 

It was a reality Delphine had come to know too well during her time in Clone Club. No matter how sure they were of themselves, something always went wrong or changed on the fly. She couldn’t shake the feeling that this was one of those times. 

She hoped, for Cosima’s sake, that she was wrong.


	4. Chapter 4

“She bought a house? In Toronto? Like, inside the city?” Alison said in disbelief. “Why would she do that? The return on investment is terrible for those properties.” 

“She asked me to move in,” Delphine said, sipping a glass of white wine. 

Alison, Sarah, and Delphine had all agreed to meet up at a bistro near DYAD for wine and cheese at the end of the day. Cosima had originally agreed to meet up with them, but she backed out at the last minute. 

“What’d you say?” Sarah asked. 

“I told her that I needed to think about it.” 

“What is there to think about? You love her. I mean, that’s obvious,” Alison said.

Sarah added, “I mean, you did basically come back from the dead after being shot in the stomach and chest. One doesn’t do that because they mildly enjoy someone.” 

“She makes a good point,” Alison said, grabbing a cube of Vermont white cheddar. “I mean, if you didn’t want to live together, I don’t think you’d have stayed around as long as you have. I would have thought you’d have split. You’ve had plenty of opportunities.” 

“It is not about love. J’adore Cosima. I am worried that living together will be a mistake. That it will ruin what we have built together. I love her, very much. I know that she loves me too. 

“We work together. We hang out together. We’ve had so many adventures over the years. We have some rough patches, it is true. There that whole… other blond phase she went through. We have survived.” She took a drink of her wine and continued her story. “I just do not believe this is the best thing for her to do with her winnings. I have a bad feeling about it.” 

“I don’t understand what the big deal is. Lots of people buy houses when they win money. And you said she was buying a house here in town. Most of those go for about five-hundred thousand dollars to seven-hundred-and-fifty thousand dollars. Considering that she banked over eighty million dollars, that isn’t a very large purchase,” Alison said. 

“I have to agree with Alison. If I had that kind of money, I’d buy the largest house in Hamilton to get the better schools. I wouldn’t even think twice. Donnie wouldn’t even have a chance to give his input.” 

“I am not worried about the price. I’m just worried that she may become addicted to the money. It worries me. She is impulsive and does not always tell us all the details of what she is planning. It is the not knowing that has me worried.” Delphine looked at her small white plate and sighed. A small frown crossed her lips. Her eyes appeared to sink as she sighed.  
Sarah and Alison tried to smile in an effort to perk Delphine back up. Sarah placed her hand on top of Delphine’s. “I’m sure she’ll be just fine. She’s the smartest out of us all, yourself included. She knows what she’s doing. You just have to have faith and trust in her.” 

Alison added, “I know that it’s hard to sit back and let someone do something you’re unsure about. I have to watch Donnie flounder all the time. But, at the same time, I also know that I love him and if things go wrong, I am there for him. I have his back. That’s what partners do. They have each other’s back, no matter what.” 

“I do have faith in her. I do have trust in her. I know that she will do what she believes is best for her. Yet, I cannot shake this feeling that this is a slippery slope. I feel like something bad is going to come from this.”

Alison cut her off. “Be that as it may, Delphine, you can’t tell Cosima what to do. She’ll just rebel and do it anyway. You have to find a way to express your opinion, yet allow her to make her own decisions. Then, when things go wrong, you’re there to pick up the pieces. That’s all you can do. It hurts, but it’s the way life is.

“I go through it all the time with the kids. I know it’ll be a thousand times worse when they get older. I know my heart will get ripped out and torn asunder a few million times, but I’ll always love my children and be there for them, no matter what happens.” 

“You are right,” Delphine said, sighing again. “I just have to sit back and let what happens happen, no matter how strongly I feel it is the wrong thing for Cosima to do. I have to let her make her own choices.” 

"You won't be alone, you know. At this point, you're part of the family, Delphine," Sarah said. She smiled as she spoke.

Alison nodded in agreement. "Family," she repeated.

"Merci," Delphine said. They all went back to their wine and cheese as the conversation moved from topic to topic with only the lightest of discussions. She couldn't escape the nagging feeling in the back of her mind. 

She was certain something bad was going to happen to Cosima. She would stake every dollar she had on it. 

Cosima raced in the door, out of breath. She huffed and puffed while leaning over. She held on to Delphine's chair for support. 

"Did you go see that house downtown Delphine was telling us about," Alison asked.

Cosima shook her head. Dreads moved from side to side. One snacked Delphine on the ear. Cosima kissed the injured cartilage.

"No. Someone made an offer this morning and the agent found out maybe five minutes before I was supposed to see it. So we went and toured this place just inside the city limits on the southeast side.

"Nice place. Huge. Marble floors, fountains, gate out front, like sixteen acres of land. Crazy mansion from TV sized. There's like twelve bedrooms. Two kitchens. I mean, the place is insane."

"How much," Sarah asked.

"Only eight-point-four million."

Alison had just taken a sip of wine before Cosima provided the price. Alison spit the wine out, towards an empty table nearby. The waiter shook his head in disapproval. 

“Dollars?” she asked. Patrons around the restaurant turned around to look. She raised her hand in acknowledgement. The universal gesture for “my bad.” 

“Yeah. Figured that wasn’t bad, so I made an offer in cash.” 

“And?” Sarah asked. 

Cosima held up the keys. “They took it, so now I own this place.” 

Everyone congratulated Cosima for her purchase. Delphine’s heart sank in her chest. She knew that this was the beginning of the slippery slope.


	5. Chapter 5

“Sestra Cosima bought a house?” Helena asked, devouring a bucket of fried chicken. “Does she not already have home?” 

“She wanted a house for Delphine and her to share,” Sarah said as she looked at the mess Helena had made around Alison’s house. “You know Alison is going to kill you, right?”

“Is no worry. Sestra Alison says Brother Sestra Donnie is to be the cleaning. He takes good care of me.” She shoved a biscuit into her mouth, whole. 

Sarah tilted her head to the side, half shaking it. “Okay,” she said. 

“Are you going to live with Sestra Cosima and Sestra-love Delphine too?” 

Sarah shook her head. “No. I won’t be moving in with them. Even with all those rooms, I think they want their space for themselves.” 

“Is a lot of space for baby making,” Helena said, shrugging. Sarah let the biological faults with that idea be. She wasn’t going to get into the middle of that debate with Helana. 

There was a knock at the door, which startled Sarah. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Helena, holding a drumstick in her hand, went to the door and opened it. “Is you. Come in,” she said. 

Cosima walked in the house. Her face beamed with a smile as she entered the house. The smile faded a bit as she looked around the house at the mess. 

“You know Alison is going to kill you two, right?” 

“Don’t look at me,” Sarah said. “Helena says that Donnie’s the one who is supposed to clean this up. I’m just here.” 

“Well, mess aside, I have some great news.” 

“I hear about house. Very big place. I am happy for you Sestra Cosima.” 

“Thanks. I’ve got other news. I purchased Delphine a new car and this,” she said, pulling out a black felt box. She opened it up with a snap. Inside was a 12-karat diamond engagement ring. 

The princess cut stone sparkled in the sunlight streaming in through the front windows of Alison’s house. 

“Is very pretty. I want to have someday ring like that from Jesse.” 

“That’s a huge rock, Cosima. That had to cost a pretty penny.”  
“I mean, it wasn’t cheap. Spent just a tad more than a million dollars for it. But if she says yes when I ask her that question, then it is definitely money well spent.”

“For that kind of bank, she’d better day yes.” Sarah couldn’t stop looking at the ring. It was the largest diamond she had ever seen outside of a museum or jewelry case on Manhattan. 

“Is much money,” Helena said, rummaging through the fridge for more food to eat. 

“I mean, I have the money. It is a gorgeous ring. And I’ve wanted to ask her for a while. I’d been saving up to buy a ring, and now I have the opportunity. Sure, this is far bigger than I had originally imagined, but that’s okay. Bigger is better, right?” 

Sarah nodded. “True for diamonds and men.” 

Helena giggled, spitting bits of chewed food on to the countertop. “Men have small…” 

“That’s enough,” Cosima said. “You think she’ll like it?”

“I’d marry you for that rock. I don’t even care that we have the same DNA.”

“That’s… oddly disturbing and yet comforting at the same time,” she said, closing the box. The box snapped as it closed. 

“So, how are you planning on springing the question on her?” 

“Well,” Cosima said, gesturing with her hands, “first, I want to show her the new house. Then, we’ll go out back where she’ll see her new sports car. It’s a Red Wine colored Corvette. Then, while she’s looking the car over, I’m going to drop to my knee and ask her the question. Bended knee, box out, the works.” 

“Sestra-lover Delphine is car girl?” Helena asked, grabbing a handful of Lucky Charms straight out of the box. 

“Not really, but she’s been driving the same car since she started college as an undergrad. That was a decade ago, so that cars like twenty years old. It’s time for her to get something nicer and that isn’t owned by DYAD. You know, just in case.” 

“Aren’t you worried that you might be spending too much money?” Sarah asked as Helena burped behind her. 

“Not really. I mean, between the house, the ring, the cars, paying off my debts, I’ve only spent about three percent of the total I have. That’s just a drop in the bucket. I have plenty of money still. I’m not in danger of running out any time soon.”

“As long as you know what you’re doing,” Sarah said, rolling her eyes slightly as she turned away from Cosima. She doubted the long term viability of these purchases, but if Cosima felt it was the right thing for her, then she would have faith in her sister. 

The front door opened, causing all three clones to turn and face the door. Donnie stepped into the house, dropping off his black backpack. “Oh, hi Sarah, Cosima. I didn’t expect to see you.” 

“It’s okay, Donnie. We were just leaving,” Sarah said. 

“Yeah, we’ll get out of your hair. I’m sure you have other things to take care of,” Cosima said, snickering. 

The two darted out of the door waving good-bye. “You have fun with all that,” Sarah said before running down the sidewalk to her car. 

“Fun with what?” he called back. 

No reply.

He began looking around the house. The kitchen was a disaster area. The cabinets were hanging open with boxes on their sides, upside down, or crushed on the counter. Chicken bones, cereal piece, bits of cardboard, and empty containers littered the countertops and the floor. The refrigerator door was ajar. Items were thrown about inside. A jar of pickles was turned upside down, spilling vinegar on top of aluminum foil wrapped leftovers. Every surface was coated in thin layer of grease from Helena’s hands.

“What happened here?” Donnie asked in disbelief of the mess.

Helena smiled and held up a chicken leg towards him. “Chicken?”


	6. Chapter 6

“Come on, let me show you all the rooms,” Cosima said, dragging Delphine through the mansion by the arm. “Hurry up, there’s lots to see.” 

“There is plenty of time to see all of the rooms,” Delphine said. “There is no reason to rush so fast. You are hurting me, Cosima.” 

“Sorry,” Cosima replied. “I’m just so excited to show you our new place.” She led Delphine through the first floor of the house. A large kitchen. An open living room. A foyer the size of a small apartment. A bedroom bigger than Felix’s loft. There was a walk in hallway closet beneath the stairs leading up to the second floor. 

In the basement was a wine cellar and a rec room. 

The second floor had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a movie theater. The third floor had a master bedroom, a master bathroom, and a small kitchen. There were various other rooms, closets, and fixtures inside the massive house. 

The tour took nearly an hour, even at Cosima’s break-neck pace. When they returned to the first floor, Cosima grabbed Delphine’s hand again. She tugged towards the patio doors. 

“Let me show you our back yard, out swimming pool, and our patio. It’s to die for. There’s plenty of space for your garden. You’ll love it. Trust me.” 

They stepped out on to the large porch with concrete fixtures. The patio was the top step of the path through the yard. The next step was an Olympic size swimming pool with a hot tub build next to it. A step down was another patio with a barbeque grill built into the concrete. Another step down led to the driveway which wrapped around the building.

In the center of the driveway was parked the Wine Red Corvette Cosima had purchased for Delphine.

“What is this?” she asked, spying the car. “Whose car is this?” 

“Yours,” Cosima said, pulling the keys out of her pocket. She dangled the keys just above her nose, in front of her face. She expected Delphine to take them and go look at the sports car. 

“It is too much money, Cosima. I cannot accept this.”

“It’s really not that much money,” she said. She started feeling like her plan was falling apart. “I got a good deal on the car. Besides, I know that you need a new car.” 

“The DYAD gives me a car.” 

“And what happens if you need to get away from DYAD again? What if you need a vacation or if you leave the company? Then what? Now you’ve got a car that’s all yours and it’s paid for.”

Delphine’s face turned upward into a scowl. She knew that she couldn’t argue with Cosima when she got like this. 

Cosima dangled the keys again. This time, the keys barely moved. Her excitement had dissipated from Delphine’s reaction. 

Delphine took the keys and began looking at the car. The body shimmered in the sunlight, even with the sky being slightly overcast. The odometer informed Delphine the car had a total of eight-point-one miles on it. This was a new as cars come. 

She walked around the car, lightly touching the curves with her fingers. She made her way back to the driver’s seat. She unlocked the car and sat in the leather seat. She sank slightly into the memory foam. It was soft and soothing. 

She took the wheel in her hands, running her palms along the steering wheel. “Okay,” she said. “I will accept it.” 

She turned her head towards the house as she tried to exit the vehicle. As she looked outward she saw Cosima kneeling in the grass just a foot beyond the car’s door. Cosima held the monster ring in her hands. 

The stone radiated profoundly in even the limited sunlight. Delphine looked at Cosima, tilting her head to the side. She squinted slightly as she tried to determine what Cosima was up to. 

“Delphine, I know that we’ve had our ups and downs. I know that I’ve made some mistakes over the years. I know that things haven’t been easy so far, and I’m sure they won’t be easy in the future, but I know there is a future. I want, with every essence of my being, to spend that future with you. 

“I just have one question to ask…” 

“Don’t.” 

“Don’t?” Cosima said, looking up with puppy dog eyes. 

“Don’t,” she repeated softly. 

“Is something wrong? Is this a bad time? Did I misinterpret the signals? Did I read our relationship wrong?” Cosima snapped the box shut and placed it back into her pocket. She stood and paced around. Her left hand moving from her forehead to in front of her face, then back again, as if on a loop. 

Delphine paused and took a deep breath. “You can stop pacing. It is not a problem with you or the relationship. It is not a problem with the question. The problem is the opulence. The car, that giant ring.” 

“I have the money…” she blurted out. Delphine raised her hand and shook her head. 

“Allow me to finish.” Cosima nodded. Delphine managed a soft smile as she continued. “I am worried that you’re going to spend all of this money quickly, then have no money left for all of the bills that roll in. It happens all the time, so I know that no one plans for it happening. But it might. That’s what worries me. 

“I do not need a fancy car to love you. I do not need a fancy ring to want to marry you. I just need you. In sickness or health, in wealth or poverty, in science or math, in Canada or France, I just need you. Surely you can understand that.” 

Cosima gave Delphine a wry smile. “Does that mean you’re saying yes?”

Delphine nodded. “Yes. I will marry you, Cosima. But I want you to return that ring and that car. They are too much money.” 

Cosima sighed. “Okay, yeah. Sure, I’ll take them back.” 

“Merci,” Delphine said. She took Cosima’s sweet face in her hands, one hand on each cheek, and kissed her lips. Cosima wrapped her arms around Delphine, pressing against her body. 

Cosima wasn’t going to admit it, but she had no intentions of returning the car or the ring.


	7. Chapter 7

Cosima rushed into Felix’s apartment. She dragged Delphine by the arm into the apartment. Cosima quickly scanned the room and realized everyone was there. 

“I have huge news,” she said, out of breath from the climb up the stairs. 

“Oh this is so exciting,” Alison said. Sarah had briefed her earlier about the planned proposal. 

“So,” Cosima said, “first off, you’re all invited to my housewarming party tomorrow night. You don’t have to bring anything. I’ve hired a caterer and installed a full house surround system that links to your network so you can stream music from online. Party starts at seven. Please don’t be fashionably late. 

“Secondly, I asked Delphine to marry me and she said yes.” She lifted up Delphine’s hand, as if to show off the ring. Delphine’s hand was bare. “She believed the ring was too large and expensive, so I’m going to take it back and get her a smaller one, since that’s what she wants.” 

She smiled at her French love. Delphine smiled back. 

“I’m so excited. Literally, so excited. So much to plan! Maid of honor? Bridesmaids? Venue? Audience size? Season? Dress? Colors? Flowers? Band? Cake? Oh my goodness, we’ll have to get started right away,” Alison said, dashing to grab a notebook from Felix’s bookshelf. 

“Whoa whoa whoa, Alison. Calm down. We’ve got plenty of time. Besides, I can just hire a professional planner. I know how much you have on your plate with the store, the kids, Helena.” 

Alison felt a wave of disappointment wash over her. She was looking forward to planning their wedding, even if they never asked her. She just knew, in her heart, that she’d be chosen for her skills at planning events. “Will there at least be bachelorette parties?”

Cosima looked at Delphine. “I’m not sure. I hadn’t thought about that. How about we just wait until Delphine and I talk about it a bit, then we’ll let you know. If I do decide to have one, and I’m not saying I am going to have one, you can plan it for me.” 

“Thank you,” Alison said. Her proud smile came back to her lips. It may not be the main event, but it was part of the show. That was good enough. 

“How many people are you expecting at this party you’re throwing?” Felix asked. 

“Just you guys, Scott, and a few other folks from work. Maybe twenty to twenty-five people tomorrow night. Tops.” 

He nodded. “Okay. Now, the caterer will have enough food for everyone?” He gestured towards Helena by pointing his thumb in her direction. 

“Don’t worry. I made sure that Helena will have her own table. All the food she can eat. She doesn’t have to worry about the mess she makes.”

“Has she ever worried about the mess?” Sarah asked. Alison, Felix, and Delphine all laughed a little. 

“I can hear you,” Helena said. For once, she wasn’t eating. “I do not make big mess on purpose. Is how I learned as a baby.” 

“It’s okay, Helena. Really, it is. As long as I can borrow Donnie to clean up afterwards, you knock yourself out,” Felix said, hugging his sister. 

“Thank you Brother-Sestra,” she said, hugging him back. “Do you have mangoes? I want very much mangoes.” 

“Sorry hun. I don’t have any mangoes. I’ve got some peaches in the fridge though.” 

“Peach is not mango.” 

“No, but it’s the best I can do. So either have a peach or go to the store and get your own mango.”

“Give me money. I go get these mangoes.” She held out her hand waiting for cash. Felix looked at her, then around the room, trying to figure out if she was serious. 

She was serious. 

“Here, Helena,” Cosima said, pulling a twenty-dollar bill from her pocket. “Get yourself some mangoes and whatever else you want from the store.” 

Helena snatched the cash from Cosima’s hand. “Thank you Sestra Cosima.” She departed the apartment happily singing.

“Mangoes, mangoes, I get mangoes…” 

“I have never seen someone like mangoes so much,” Delphine said. 

Sarah shook her head. “Mangoes. That’s all she talks about since we escaped Castor. She’s always talking about mangoes. I don’t get it. She won’t talk about where this obsession came from either.” 

“Traumatic events can be like that,” Delphine said. “There are things that we, as a group, do not talk about but we know they happened.” 

“I don’t know about you,” Cosima said as she hopped over the back of the couch, “but I prefer to think about the good things in life.” She turned and smiled towards Delphine. 

“Are you sure you won’t want us to get your anything for your housewarming?” Alison asked. 

“I’m sure. My new furniture was delivered today, so all the rooms are decorated now. I have the party planned out. So long as everything goes to plan, there’s not really much you can do for me other than just be there. That would mean more to me than any casserole or blender.” She smiled at her two sisters as she looked around the loft. 

“It feels wrong,” Alison said. “I’ve been to countless parties. I can’t imagine showing up without bringing something. What if I just bring you a bottle of wine? Would that work?” 

Cosima laughed. “Yeah, that’s fine. Just make sure it’s French or California. I don’t want any of that Texas vineyard crap.” 

“You know,” Felix said, “they did some blind taste tests from some of the most renowned sommeliers, and they picked Texas wine that sells for ten bucks a bottle as the best wine they tasted. That beat out some of the five-hundred buck plus bottles from California and France.” 

Cosima and Delphine stared at him. Their eyes could have cut holes through him leaving him as Felix Swiss Cheese. 

“What? Just throwing out some facts.” He raised his hands in the air as if to surrender. “I thought you were the intellectual crowd.” He stuck his tongue out. 

Cosima began to laugh as she threw a pillow at him. Soon, pillows and blankets were flying through the air. 

Even Alison joined the fray. “Pillow fight!”


	8. Chapter 8

“Just put that over in the corner,” Cosima said as she pointed across the room. The two men carrying in some additional seats and tables for the party nodded. They carried several chairs and tables through the house, setting them up just inside the patio doors. There were two buffet tables set up, as well as an open bar. Even the Helena table was ready to go. 

Cosima expected the first of the guests to arrive over the next few minutes. She was hoping the setup would be complete before the first visitors came through the front door. 

She walked through the house double checking all of the fine details. She made sure that everything was to her liking. If even the smallest detail was off, she would see it and get it corrected. 

This wasn’t just a housewarming party. It was going to be the greatest party any of these guests had ever seen. 

Before she could finish her final checks, the doorbell rang. The only thing she hadn’t hired was a doorman for the evening. She would be opening her front door several times as each of the guests arrived. 

She made her way to the front door. It rang two more times before she could reach the front door. She turned the knob and opened the door. She pulled it open to see the first of her guests to arrive. 

Alison and Donnie stood on the front porch. “Hi Cosima, sorry we’re late. We brought you some wine. Good stuff.” 

Donnie reached out with the bottle of wine from Napa Valley. 

“Late?” Cosima asked. “You’re ten minutes early. Party doesn’t start until seven.” 

“Well, that’s late for us,” Alison said as she entered the house. “Holy schnikes this place is massive. It’s bigger on the inside even.”

Cosima tried to stifle her laughter at Alison’s accidental Doctor Who reference. She took the bottle of wine from Donnie. He stepped into the house, allowing Cosima to close the door. 

“Make yourself at home,” she said to her guests. “I just have to do some last minute detail checks around the place, then the party will start.” 

“Come on, Donnie. Don’t be rude,” Alison said as she made her way through the house and out to the back patio.

“Yes dear,” he said, confused as to what he was doing that upset her. 

Cosima disappeared from the foyer as she darted to the kitchen, the patio, the various buffet tables, and the bathrooms. Once she felt everything was okay, she returned to the foyer, adjacent to the party. 

She was just in time to hear the doorbell ring. Sarah and Felix had arrived. They were followed closely by Scott and Delphine. A band of coworkers filtered in over the next few minutes. Twenty minutes into the party, everyone was there.

Every except Helena. 

“Where’s Helena?” Cosima asked Sarah. 

“I don’t know. I thought Alison was supposed to bring her.” 

Alison shook her head and raised her hands, as if to say “not me.” “No one told me anything about picking Helena up. Besides, didn’t Jesse get her a new motorcycle recently? Maybe she’s riding that to the party.” 

“Does anyone have her phone number?” Cosima asked.

“Does Helena have a phone? I’ve never seen her on a phone. Not even talking to Jesse,” Felix said. 

“I don’t know, Fe. I honestly don’t know. Did we ever get her a clone phone, Alison?” Sarah asked. 

“No, because when I handed out the phones, she was trying to murder us all. Then we weren’t sure that we trusted her, then she came to live with me. I didn’t think about getting her a clone phone.” 

Scott walked over to join the group of sisters and Delphine. “Hey, great party. The food is amazing,” he said. He scanned the group. “Why all the sad faces?” 

“We don’t know where Helena is,” Cosima said. 

“Why don’t you call her?” he asked.

“She doesn’t have a phone that we’re aware of.” 

“Oh, I have her number. She gave it to me when we played Magic the Gathering a while back. She wanted to learn more about how to play. But I stopped inviting her over because I couldn’t afford to keep feeding her.” He shrugged as he finished his story.

“Call her,” Cosima said. “Call her now and find out where she is.” She stormed off to tend to the other party guests.

“She gets very tense when things are not just so,” Delphine said. “Do not take it personal, Scott.” 

“Nah,” he said, shaking his head. “You learn how to deal with her over time.” 

The party-goers socialized over the course of several hours. Scott called Helena several times, leaving multiple messages. She never answered the phone or called him back. Each time, he’d tell Cosima. Each time, she’d tell him to try harder. 

Short of going to her home with Jesse, he couldn’t think of anything else he could try. 

He found Delphine hanging next to the punch bowl talking with Connie, one of the women down in DYAD administration. It was Connie’s job to fill out all of the paperwork for any of the releases and discoveries DYAD made. It was also Connie’s job to deflect people who may intend harm to DYAD through official channels. 

Since taking over DYAD, Delphine had come to rely on Connie heavily. Through Connie, Delphine learned a lot about Rachel and the things she was doing around DYAD that were not necessarily above board. 

“Hey, Delphine, Connie,” he said. “Cosima’s upset that Helena isn’t here. I’ve called her multiple times, but she hasn’t answered. Should I wait to see if she calls me back? Cause the only other thing I can do is try to go over to her house. If she’s not there, then I don’t know what else to do.” 

Delphine shook her head. “Stay here and enjoy the party. I will talk with Cosima.” She smiled at him. He smiled back.

“Thanks Delphine.”

“De rien,” she said with a smile. “Excuse me,” she said towards Connie. Connie nodded in understanding. 

Delphine made her way through the party looking for Cosima. She checked the kitchen and the foyer. She checked the patio. She went up the stairs and checks the bedrooms. Cosima was no where to be found. 

Delphine came back downstairs and found Helena standing in the middle of the room. Helena was looking around at all the fixtures and items filling the house. 

“Hello Helena,” Delphine said.  
“Hello Sestra-lover Delphine. Show me to the food.” 

Delphine smiled. “This way,” she said as she escorted Helena. Helena looked over the table of food and the cook working from a portable kitchen. “This is all for you.” 

“All for me?” 

Delphine nodded. “Yes. Eat all you want.” 

Helena was already filling up a plate with large amounts of every meat, grain, fruit, and processed treat on the table.


	9. Chapter 9

Cosima was outside picking up the trash from last night’s party when she saw two people walking towards her. The couple, dressed in matching white outfits, made their way through her yard from the east. They made quick work of the distance between themselves and Cosima. 

“That was some party,” the man in white said. 

“We could hear it from our bedroom,” the woman added. 

Cosima wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, then placed the black trash bag down on the patio. “I’m sorry? I’m fairly certain the music wasn’t that loud. We were able to have conversations with people without resorting to screaming. 

“Additionally, the distance between the house you came from and mine would require the music to be nearly rock concert loud in order to hear it through those soundproof windows that are standard issue for these large homes.”

“Oh, I like her,” the man said. The woman nodded. “I’m Lester and this is my sister Heather.” The two extended their hands to Cosima. 

She shook her head. “Apologies if I don’t shake hands,” she said, raising her hands to reveal her dirty work gloves. “I’m Cosima.” 

“Of course,” Heather said. “Completely understandable. We can see that you’re busy, so we’ll keep this brief.” 

“My sister and I noticed that you just moved in to the neighborhood, so we wanted to invite you and your husband…” 

“Fiancee.” 

“Fiancee,” he corrected, “to join us at our country club this weekend. Nothing fancy. Brunch, a few drinks, and maybe a few holes of golf.” 

“Yeah, okay. That sounds good.”

“I’ll have Eduardo bring over all the details later today.” 

“Eduardo is?” 

“My personal assistant, of course. Speaking of,” Heather said, “why aren’t your housekeepers tending to these chores?” 

Cosima hook her head. “I don’t have any housekeepers.” 

“A place this size and no housekeepers? My goodness,” Heather said, raising her hand to her chest. She ran her fingers over the large white pearls strung around her neck in a double loop. “I feel overworked at our home, and I have three full time housekeepers, a chef, a groundskeeper, my personal assistant, and a life coach.” 

“That’s a lot of people.” 

“It takes a lot of people to make a home run properly,” Lester said. “Each person is part of the family, to some degree.” 

“So you two live together?” Cosima asked.

“We do everything together,” he said. “Heather and I are very close.” 

Heather giggled at how he emphasized “close”. She looked at Cosima and the state of the patio. Plastic cups and plates left all over the place. Empty beer cans and cigarette butts littered the ground. “I can see you have a lot of work to do, so we’ll get out of your hair. We’ll see you and your fiancee, what was his name?” 

“Delphine. Her name is Delphine.” 

“How progressive. I like it,” Lester said. “Well, we will see you and Delphine at the country club on Saturday.” 

“Thanks for the invitation,” Cosima said, reaching out her hand. In the moment, she forgot about the work gloves. Both Lester and Heather politely declined her invitation to shake. “Oh, sorry,” she said, embarrassed. 

“Toodles,” Heather said. She finger-waved over her shoulder as she walked away. Lester walked close beside her. As they got further away, Cosima was convinced they were holding hands. 

She returned to her task of cleaning up her yard. As the sun rose in the sky and she continued to sweat, she started wondering why she was busting her butt, sweating to death, cleaning up such a large place by herself. She told herself all the time that she could save by not having to do everything herself. She convinced herself that it would be good for the economy and for the person she hires to have a job. 

She made her mind up that she was going to hire a housekeeper to help out. Heather was right. The house was too large to tend to themselves. After all, Cosima knew that she could afford the salary for someone working for her. The interest alone on her savings account would more than pay the cost. 

In her mind, she considered it free labor. It would have been foolish not to do it. 

She spent the next hour picking up every piece of litter and trash from her property. All the while, she kept replaying the conversation with Lester and Heather in her head. She made up her mind. She was going to get a housekeeper. 

When she returned into the main house, she could see the cleaning crew hired to clean the inside finishing up. Their contract was just for the first floor of the house, leaving Cosima responsible for the rest of the property. She hadn’t believed her friends to be that messy. 

She knew differently now. 

She paid the crew for their efforts and prepared to make herself a cold glass of water. Delphine came downstairs from the bedroom. She was wearing boxer shorts and a white dress shirt. The shirt was six sizes too big, making it the perfect nightshirt. 

As soon as she hit the bottom of the stairs, she yawned and stretched. 

“Good morning, sweetheart,” Cosima said. 

Delphine yawned again. “Good morning. I am surprised to see you awake.” 

“I’ve been up since sunrise. I wanted to make sure that I could get the house clean. Otherwise, it would have been on my mind all day long.” 

Delphine nodded and walked into the kitchen. She opened six cabinets looking for a bowl. Another three cabinets were flung open trying to find a box of cereal. She went straight to the milk in the fridge. 

She stood in the kitchen eating a bowl of generic fruit rings left over from Cosima’s apartment. “It is very clean here,” she said as she looked around. 

“Cleaning crew just left. I cleaned up outside. Wasn’t part of the job I hired them for. I was so fixated on Helena that I forgot that everyone else is a slob. I did get to meet the neighbors. They are some interesting people. Invited us to their country club for brunch, golf, and drinks on Saturday.” 

“I think we should meet the neighbors at least,” Delphine said, pouring herself a glass of orange juice to go with her cereal. 

“Excellent. I’ll let them know we’re on for Saturday morning. Oh, and I’m hiring a housekeeper.” 

Delphine nearly spit out her cereal. “Pourquoi?” 

“This place is huge. It gets dusty. We entertain. We can’t keep this place clean ourselves with our work schedules. Plus you know how difficult it can be to find time when we’re dealing with clonemergencies. It just makes sense. I can pay the housekeeper using the interest from my savings account, so we basically have free help.” 

Delphine shook her head. “If this is what you want, I support you.” 

“I was hoping you’d see it my way. Can you get me some applicants to look through by the end of the day? I’m going to go take my shower. Thanks love.” Cosima dashed up the stairs. 

Delphine spit her cereal out. Tiny bits of colors rings and a wave of milk flew across the counter top.


	10. Chapter 10

The foyer was filled with folding chairs as dozens of potential employees sat waiting for a chance to talk to the lady of the house. Each one hoping to get a decent job in Canada that would allow them to live, as well as to send a few dollars back to their home countries. Cosima scanned the group from a distance, trying to figure if any of the applicants leapt out to her immediately. 

“Is this really the best you could find?” Cosima asked as she darted back into the kitchen. 

“On such short notice, I would say this is a very good turn out. I called every temp agency and headhunter in the county to get applicants here this quickly,” Delphine said. She held dozens of resumes in her hands, which she’d collected from the applicants on their way in. 

“There better be some housekeepers in this group. I swear, I won’t be wasting my time picking up trash in this place again.” She stormed off into the large dining room, where Delphine has constructed a mock conference room. It was here they would conduct their interviews. 

“Let’s get this over with,” she said, flopping down into the high-backed wooden chair. 

“Of course,” Delphine said before walking off to summon the first applicant. 

Applicant after applicant came into the conference room. Cosima fired off the same six questions in rapid succession. Delphine would read the highlights of the resume. 

Each applicant was dismissed curtly by Cosima. Delphine promised they would receive a call tomorrow either way. 

After six hours of interviews, the last applicant was dismissed. 

“Waste of my time,” Cosima said, running off to her room. “Clean this mess up.” 

“You didn’t like any of the applicants?” 

“They’re all the same. You decide who to hire. They’ll be your problem anyway.” 

Delphine looked at the rows of chairs in the foyer. She looked at the dozens of pages of notes she’d scribbled down during the interviews. She looked over the stack of applications, strewn about the table. 

She shook her head and sighed. The clock struck 10 p.m. She’d spent her entire day on this project. Now she was preparing to spend her entire night as well. 

She slowly began folding all of the metal chairs and stacking them in the corner. She had made up her mind that she was going to have a decision before she went to bed. There were several promising candidates, in her eyes, but none that Cosima seemed particularly keen on. 

Delphine thought about making a decision based solely on qualifications, rather than the interviews. She immediately thought of four people to fill the three spots available. 

The candidates she was drawn to were David Cobb, Frank Walker, Maria Collins, and Angela Laguerre. 

David was a former college football player who had some trouble with the law in his youth. Now in his mid-thirties, he had turned a new leaf. He was looking for employment to support his girlfriend and their two children, following the closure of the automotive factory he used to work at in Hamilton. 

Frank was a recent college graduate, full of energy. He had a degree in economics and was looking to put some money away while applying for jobs at colleges and hedge funds across Canada. While it was likely that he would leave the job at some point, he seemed eager to have a job. 

Maria was a single mother living in a small apartment downtown with her brother’s family. She was hoping to get a job that would allow her to move into her own apartment. She had worked as a housekeeper for a hotel a few years back, until the police shut the place down for an alleged meth lab in the basement. 

Angela was a recent retiree who was looking to get out of the house. Her youngest child had recently left home following college, leaving her home alone. She wanted someone to fuss over and to tend to. She’d been a homemaker and mother for the last thirty years. 

In her professional life, she had been a schoolteacher. She was forced to retire when she hit her thirty year mark. For her, the job was about doing something, more than the money it would provide. She was set with her pension and government retiree benefits. 

Each of the candidates stood out to Delphine. She wanted to hire the best candidates, which meant that someone from this group wasn’t going to make the cut. 

She had a tough decision to make. She wanted to hire all four of them for the estate, but was under orders from Cosima to hire only three people.

Delphine wrestled with the decision in her head as she put the last of the chairs away. She had finished racking them back on their metal roller to return to the local youth center. 

As she pushed the roller into the dining room, she smiled. Her mind was made up. 

She was going to hire all four. To hell with what Cosima wanted.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> POSSIBLE TRIGGER WARNING - IMPLIED VIOLENCE/ABUSE

“She did what!?” Sarah said as she sat on Felix’s couch. Felix’s jaw was agape at what Delphine had just said. 

“That’s not like her at all,” Alison said, sitting in a chair next to the couch. 

“Sestra was not nice,” Helena said as she shook her head. “Not nice at all to Almost Sestra Delphine.” 

“I don’t know what has happened to her lately, but she’s not the same person. She’s changed,” Delphine said. “She’s gotten snippy with me. She’s been overly demanding. She’s been distant. It’s just not the same anymore.” 

She rubbed her hand over her left eye. The swelling had gone down, but a large purple bruise was beginning to take shape. She winced as her finger grazed her eye. 

“You did the right thing in leaving,” Alison said. She offered a half-melted bag of frozen peas to Delphine. 

Delphine politely declined. 

“I just cannot believe that she would do that. She’s always struck me as the type to not hurt a fly,” Felix said from his seat on the sofa arm beside Sarah. 

Delphine sighed. “She used to be.” 

They all sat for a few moments in silence, as if mourning the death of a loved one. 

Helena punched her right fist into her left palm. “You want payback?” she asked. 

“No, Helena. That won’t be necessary. I’m sure she didn’t mean it.” 

“I do not like seeing Almost Sestra sad.” 

Delphine smiled at Helena. “Just knowing that you care makes me happy.” 

Helena’s face flushed pink at the compliment. 

“We have to do something though, right? We can’t let her get away with this,” Alison said. 

“We can’t just show up and smack her around. That’s not the way Clone Club works,” Sarah said. 

“But Clone Club doesn’t believe in punching your true love in the face.”

“I hit Sestra in face,” Helena said.

“And I impaled you with rebar. This is not quite the same thing, Helena. This is someone knowingly hurting someone they love. We didn’t know each other when we fought,” Sarah said. 

“How about we go over there and talk to her? Maybe have an intervention or something?” Felix said. “I have the perfect outfit for it.” 

“I appreciate all the love, everyone, but I think for now I’m going to hope this was an isolated incident. I don’t want to make waves when I don’t have to.” 

“Are you sure that’s how you want to handle this?” Sarah asked. “We don’t mind helping you out in any way that we can.” 

Delphine nodded. “I’m sure,” she said with a smile. 

“If there is anything, anything at all, that we can do to help you, please let us know. My home is always open to you,” Alison said. 

“Of course,” Delphine said. She smiled a little more at Alison’s hospitality. 

“We do nothing to help Almost Sestra?”

“She doesn’t want us to do anything, Helena,” Sarah said. “We’re going to respect her wishes.” 

“I really appreciate it, all of you. You’ve done a lot just offering me the chance to vent. I just wanted you each to know what your sister has been up to.” 

“We’re sorry she did that,” Alison said. “But we’re glad you feel comfortable enough with us to let us know.” 

“We’re almost family,” Delphine said. “I love you all just as if you were my own sisters Or brother,” she said as she looked at Felix. 

She stood up and placed the bag of peas on the table. “I think I’ll be going home now. Thank you all for your hospitality.” 

“Anytime,” Felix said. “You’re always welcome here.” 

“Be safe, okay?” Sarah said as she stood.

Delphine nodded. “I will. Do not worry.”  
“If you need us, call,” Alison said. “We’ll be there in half a heartbeat.” 

“Thank you,” Delphine said. A soft smile crossed her lips. She turned and walked out of Felix’s loft. She waved to the group before sliding the door closed. 

“We’re not seriously going to let Cosima get away with that, are we?” Felix asked once the door was closed. 

“Of course not,” Sarah said. “There’s no way we’re going to let one member of Clone Club hurt another like that. Not now, not ever.” 

“That’s what I was hoping you’d say,” Alison said with a grin.


	12. Chapter 12

Cosima arrived at the country club just before ten in the morning. She paced a few times, checking her cell phone. Her face betrayed her unease with being in a place like this. Her hand still ached from a few days prior. 

“Ah, Cosima,” Heather said as she approached. Her hand clasped tightly to Lester’s in a romantic fashion. “So glad to see you made it.” She looked around. “Is your fiancee here? I’d love to meet her.” 

Cosima shook her head. “No. Sadly, she couldn’t make it today. Something came up that prevented such an outing.” She slid her phone and her hand into her pocket. 

“That’s a shame,” Lester said. “ I guess it’s just the three of us then. Come along.” He strode off towards the double doors. Doormen dressed in pristine white outfits opened the doors, as if the trio were royalty. Inside, Cosima found a richly decorated meeting space, filled with leather couches, chairs, and tables. The room broke into three separate areas. One led towards the clubhouse. One led towards the locker rooms. The third led towards the restaurant. 

“I hope you’re hungry,” Heather said. “This place has the most amazing brunch. The mimosas are to die for. Literally, to die for. “

Cosima fought the urge to roll her eyes at the utterance of “literally” in a figurative sense. 

Lester approached the hostess and flashed three fingers. She nodded as she grabbed three menus. 

“This way,” she said, motioning towards the dining area. She led the group towards a round table next to a large bay window. Outside, they could see a pond filled with ducks, swans, geese, and fish. 

“Lance will be your wait. He’ll be with you shortly,” she said before returning to her station. 

Cosima lifted up the menu. The cheapest thing was an order of toast that cost over twenty dollars. The brunch carried a price tag of seventy dollars. Each mimosa would be twenty-five bucks. 

“These prices are insane,” she said.

“Nonsense,” Lester said. “You can easily afford these prices. With the house and the car you just purchased, you’ve surely got more than enough funds to cover brunch today. For all of us.”

“All of us?”

“We’ll get you the next time. Promise,” Heather said with a smile. 

“Okay. I guess that’ll be fine. Just this one,” Cosima said. 

“Excellent,” Lester said as Lance appeared. “Three brunches and three mimosas, my good man.”

Lance nodded and departed without having said a word. 

“You’re going to love it, trust me,” Lester said. 

“It’s brunch,” Cosima said. “What’s not to love?” 

“Exactly,” Heather said as she shifted in her chair. “Tell us about yourself, Cosima. What do you do? Where are you from?” She leaned forward, supporting herself on her forearms. 

“Well, I work at Dyad as a research scientist. Mostly trying to find cures for different ailments. I moved here from San Francisco. I have two twin sisters. We were triplets,” she said, protecting herself in case they notice Sarah or Alison at the house. 

“A scientist. My, that is exciting,” Lester said. “I didn’t think scientists made the kind of money to live in our neighborhood.” 

“They don’t, typically. But I’m really good at what I do,” she said with a wink. 

“Maybe you should rethink the hedge trading game, brother.” 

“Maybe.”

Lance appeared with a silver tray filled with mimosas. He silently placed a drink in front of each guest before bowing slightly and disappearing. 

“Try it. You’re going to want to literally die. Trust me,” Heather said with a smile. 

Cosima rolled her eyes as she reached for the thin champagne flute. Heather was playing with grammatical fire, figuratively speaking. 

The flute felt heavy on her hand. Much heavier than it appeared to weigh. This difference was enough to cause Cosima to inadvertently knock it over. The mixture of alcohol and orange juice flowed all over the white table cloth. It cascaded over the edge, dousing Cosima’s pants.

“Frick,” she said at the sight of the mess. “I am so sorry.” She frantically grabbed at napkins to try and clean up the spill. 

“Relax. That’s what Lance is for.” Lester turned and yelled Lance’s name. 

Lance approached the table and saw Cosima trying to clean up the mess in her flustered state. He nodded before disappearing through a door towards a small storage area. He returned with paper towels, a mop, a bucket, and a new table cloth. 

Heather and Lester moved away from the table. Cosima continued trying to clean it up, even as Lance started taking command. 

“Allow me, ma’am,” he said.

“It was an accident. I’m so sorry.” 

“It’s quite all right. Now, allow me. I’ll take care of this for you.” 

Cosima slowly backed away from the table. She dropped the soiled napkins on the floor next to her feet. Drops of mimosa splattered on her shoe. 

“I’m sorry,” she said, still backing away. She turned and ran through the clubhouse and out the front door. “I’m so sorry. So very, very sorry.” 

Lester and Heather stared at each other, rather than chase after the fleeing scientist. 

“I hope she left her credit card information with the club staff,” he said with a laugh. Heather joined him. 

Outside, Cosima slid into her car and held the wheel. She slumped forward, laying on the horn. She jerked back at the sound of the blaring car. 

“I’m such an idiot,” she said, starting her car. “Such an idiot.” 

She backed out of the parking spot and began driving home. She hopped on the highway, racing down the road at nearly 100 MPH. She zoomed past car after car on her way to her home. 

As she drove, her mood changed from embarrassment to anger. She was mad at the situation. She was mad that she made a fool of herself. She was mad that she was there alone in the first place. 

She was mad, and she knew who would have to deal with the consequences of a spilled mimosa.


	13. Chapter 13

Cosima pulled into the driveway and ran into the house. Her anger had subsided thanks to the drive through town at over 100 MPH. 

Inside, the large home felt oppressively empty. Her voice echoed throughout as she called Delphine’s name. 

No answer. No one was home. 

Cosima made her way to the master bedroom and changed clothes. As she was zipping up a fresh pair of jeans, she fell back on the bed and began crying. 

“I can’t believe I finally had the opportunity to make friends with someone who doesn’t have my DNA and I blew it like that,” she said to her pillows. 

Before she could wallow in any more sorrow, the doorbell rang. She sat up, wiped away the tears, and made the long walk to the door. 

She opened the door and stared vacantly out into the daylight. “What do you want?” she said, turning and walking away from the open door. 

“Now you know that is not any way to talk to your sister,” Alison said, entering the house. She closed the door behind her. “I just wanted to talk to you.”

“Maybe I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Nonsense. If you didn’t want me here, you wouldn’t have allowed me into the house.” 

“Maybe I was just being polite,” Cosima said. 

Alison smiled. “If you were being polite, you’d have said you were ill and to come back another time. Instead, you allowed me to enter. That means you want me here.” 

“What do you want, Alison?” 

Alison made her way towards Cosima’s kitchen. Inside, she placed her purse on the counter then helped herself to some tea bags and mugs. 

“I just wanted to talk with my sister. Is that really such a burden?” she asked with a smile. 

“Now is not the best time.”

“If not now, then when? I feel like I barely get to see you any more since you’ve moved.” 

“You just saw me a few nights ago at the party.” 

“That was almost a week ago,” Alison reminded her. “No one hears from you. No one sees you. It’s like you want nothing to do with us. If that’s the case, be an adult and tell us to our faces. I mean, it won’t stop us from being family and wanting to be in your life, but you can tell us all the same.” 

She placed a kettle filled with water on the stove as she spoke. The then placed the tea bags next to each cup, along with some sugar cubes and a carton of milk. 

“It’s not that I don’t want you to be a part of my life, I’m just busy lately,” Cosima said. 

“We’re all busy. But we make it a point to make time for one another. Families do that. You should know that,” Alison said with a smile. 

“I know, but… It’s complicated,” Cosima said with her eyes fixed on the countertop. 

“You’re in luck. I specialize in complicated.” 

“This is different.”

“Try me. You might be surprised how well I can handle complicated situations.” 

Cosima shook her head. “I don’t want to burden you with it.”

“It’s not a burden. You’re family.” Alison leaned on the countertop, facing Cosima. “Dish.” 

Cosima took a deep breath and held it for nearly a minute before exhaling. “Okay, fine. I have been trying to make friends since I moved here. Outside of Clone Club, I don’t have any. I had a chance to make friends with my neighbors and I blew it.” 

The kettle began to whistle on the stove. Alison spun and removed it from the heat. She quickly poured the boiling water into the two cups.

She slid one cup towards Cosima before preparing her own cup of tea. 

“Now, what makes you think that you blew it with the neighbors?” she asked as she placed her tea bag into the cup to steep. 

Cosima launched into the story of her brunch at the country club. She recalled the spilled mimosa and her drive home. She admitted to having been home maybe fifteen minutes before Alison arrived. 

“It was the universe calling me here, then,” Alison said proudly. “The world knew that you needed a boost and sent me to help out.” 

“That’s nonsense.”

Alison blew on her tea, trying to cool it down enough to sip. “I think it’s karma that keeps bringing us together during trying times. Speaking of trying times, how is Delphine? I haven’t seen her since the party.”

Cosima shifted in her seat. “She’s fine, I guess. I haven’t really seen her lately either.” 

Before Alison could ask another question, the doorbell rang. They looked in the direction of the door, confused who would be coming at this moment. 

Cosima walked to the door with Alison staying in the kitchen. She opened the front door to find Lester and Heather standing there. 

“Hello Cosima,” Heather said.

“We wanted to come over and see how you are doing,” Lester added. 

“I’m okay. My sister is over for some tea.”

“I could go for some tea,” Heather said, inviting herself in. 

“Me too,” Lester added. The two made their way into the house. Cosima shook her head, as if confused, before closing the door. 

“Well hello there pretty lady,” he said taking a look at Alison. 

She blushed at the compliment. “Hello. I’m Alison, Cosima’s sister.” 

They made quick introductions as Alison set out two more cups and poured more hot water from the kettle. 

“How was brunch?” Cosima asked. 

“Actually, we didn’t stick around. The staff started having an attitude about the commotion so we left,” Lester said. 

“Besides,” Heather added, “we wanted to have brunch with you. It wasn’t the same after you left.” 

“See,” Alison said taking a sip of her tea. “I told you. Everything works out in the end.” 

The quartet sat around talking for another half-an-hour before Alison had to leave. She said her good-byes, leaving Cosima with Lester and Heather. 

She didn’t know it would be the last time she’d see Cosima smile.


	14. Chapter 14

“Cosima, we need to talk,” Delphine said as she prepared to lay down in bed.

“Really? Right now?” Cosima said, already laying in bed. “I just got comfortable.” 

“Yes, now. I won’t be able to sleep if we wait until later.” 

“Ugh, fine,” Cosima said, inching her way back into a sitting position. “What did you want to talk about that cannot wait until morning?” 

Delphine slid into bed, sitting with her pillows behind her back. She pulled the covers up to just above her waist, trying to make herself comfortable. Cosima was visibly growing impatient with waiting. 

“Hurry up,” she snapped. 

“Sorry,” Delphine said. “I just wanted to talk about what happened earlier with Lester.” 

“That’s none of your business. Who said you get to have a say in any of my affairs.” 

“I thought we were a couple. I thought we did things together.” 

“We are. But this is my decision. It has nothing to do with you.” 

“Nothing to do with me?” Delphine said on the brink of tears. “You go ahead and invest almost every dime we have with a man you barely know because he makes a flashy pitch and lives next door? And you don’t even stop to think if this is a good decision?” 

“I did my research. I feel comfortable with Lester managing all of my winnings and my money. So I made a decision and I stand behind it.” The way Comisa emphasized the word ‘my’ struck Delphine in the chest like a truck. Her heart sank in her chest. Her stomach wanted to escape through her back. 

She was defeated and deflated. 

“I’m sorry I brought it up.” 

“Good. Now, if there’s no more nonsense, I’m going to sleep,” Cosima said as she slid back down into bed. She rolled over and turned off her lamp. 

Delphine sighed. She turned off her light as she left the bed. She slipped on a pair of slippers with puppies printed on them and made her way out of the master bedroom. 

She made her way through the large home, her footsteps echoing softly through the halls, towards the smallest bedroom in the house. It had become her sanctuary as things had worsened with Cosima. This was the only place Delphine felt like she had of her own in the new house. 

It was also a place she could go and make phone calls without Cosima hearing her. She pulled her cell phone out of her pajama pockets and dialed Sarah. 

“Hey,” Sarah said as she answered the phone. “What’s going on?” 

“I don’t want to be here anymore.” 

“Did she hit you again? Because I’ll come down there…” 

“No no, nothing like that,” Delphine said, rubbing her eye. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“I don’t feel comfortable here anymore. I don’t feel like I’m a part of her life. It’s like she’s cut me out. There was a switch that flipped and now she doesn’t care about me anymore.” 

“I’m sure she loves you to pieces,” Sarah said. “I think she’s just having a hard time dealing with all her new found wealth and attention. They say that it can change a person.” 

“She’s not the same person, that’s for sure. She’s changed. I don’t like the new her. I don’t want to be here any more. Can you come get me?” 

“Sure love. I can be there in about half-an-hour. You can stay with me for as long as you like.” 

“Are you sure that’ll be okay with Felix?” 

“Felix is okay with whatever I say. He knows that it’s my way always,” Sarah said with a laugh. 

“Merci,” Delphine said. 

“Anytime,” said Sarah as she hung up the phone. 

Delphine placed the phone back into her pocket before going to the closet where she kept an emergency bag with a week’s worth of clothes and accessories, as well as some cash and other essentials. 

She grabbed the bag and made her way out of the room. She quickly made her way down the hallway towards the stairs. She darted through the first floor hallways and towards the foyer. She flung open the door and raced outside into the cool night air. She ran to the street and waited for Sarah there. She didn’t want to risk Cosima seeing the lights pull into the driveway of the home. 

Delphine didn’t even mind standing out in the elements wearing only her pajamas. She didn’t even care if the neighbors saw her. She just wanted out of this relationship that had become a true nightmare for her. 

It felt like an eternity waiting for Sarah to arrive. Delphine checked her phone every minute or two to see the time and look for any missed texts. Over and over she looked at the phone, then down the road for headlights. Each time, she grew more and more anxious to get away from this place. 

Thirty minutes went past without Sarah’s arrival. Thirty turned into forty which became fifty. After an hour had past, Sarah still wasn’t there. Not even a text to explain the delay. 

Delphine decided she needed to call Sarah and find out what was going on. She began to raise the phone to her ear when she saw headlights approaching. 

The car stopped on the shoulder a few feet away from Delphine. From the passenger’s side window, she could see the shadow of a figure leaning out. 

“Oy, get in back,” Felix said. “We’re here to take you away.” 

“What took you so long?” she asked, placing the phone back in her pocket. She grabbed her bag and made her way towards the car. 

“Nice jammies,” he said. “It’s my fault we’re late. I sort of broke Sarah’s cell phone, so we had to get her a burner on the way out here.” 

“That’s why you didn’t let me know you were running late?” She slid into the backseat and closed the door. Sarah put the car in gear and drove off heading back towards Felix’s loft.

“Sorry. I didn’t have your number since my phone was broken. But I told you I would be here, and we got here as fast as we could. But I had to get a phone before all the shops closed.” 

“I understand,” Delphine said. For the first time in hours, she felt like she was able to relax. She took a deep breath and sunk back into the leather seat. A few more breaths and she was asleep for the first night of restful sleep she’d had in weeks.


	15. Chapter 15

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Sarah said as she approached Cosima’s house. “You can stay with Felix and I a bit longer if you want.” 

Delphine shook her head. “No. This is what I want to do. We’ve talked a bit in the month we’ve been apart. She seems to have changed. I want to give this another chance.” 

Felix put his hand on her shoulder as he turned from the passenger seat to face her. “I understand. If she doesn’t anything, even one thing, you don’t like, you call me. I’ll be there in half a heartbeat to take you back to my place. Okay?” 

Delphine nodded. “I know. Thank you Felix, Sarah. You two really are family to me.” 

“You’re family too,” Sarah said. 

The car rounded the last corner on the way to Cosima’s home. From their vantage point, they could see a series of moving vans lining the sides of the road. 

“That’s a lot of moving vehicles,” Sarah said. 

Felix turned around in his seat to look at the half-dozen large moving vans nearly blocking the road. 

“They’re all outside of your neighbor’s house, it seems,” Felix said. 

As the car approached, the trio could see groups of men working in trios moving furniture and boxes out of the mansion and into the trucks. Each truck seemed to be nearly stuffed with items from inside the home. 

“Well, they’re definitely moving out,” Felix said. 

Sarah pulled the car through the narrow lane left by the vehicles. She made a wide turn to enter Cosima’s estate without crashing into the backend of a moving van. She slipped into the driveway and pulled all the way to the front door. 

“Are you sure that you want to do this?” Felix said as Delphine opened her door. “It’s not too late to change your mind.” 

“I’m sure,” she said as she stood out front of Cosima’s house. Delphine could admire the beauty, but the place didn’t feel like home. It certainly did not feel like it was hers. 

“Call if you need us,” Sarah said.

“I will,” she said as she closed the car door. “Don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing.” 

“Okay. We love you,” Felix said. He waved as Sarah put the car into gear and began driving off. Delphine watched as they drove off the way they came. 

She was really doing it. She was really returning to this place. 

She took a deep breath and walked up to the door. She rang the bell and waited. 

“Welcome back, Miss Delphine,” Angela said opening the door. 

“Thank you Angela. Is Cosima home?” 

“Yes ma’am. She’s upstairs in her study reading I believe.”

“Thank you,” Delphine said making her way inside. The place looked the same as when she left, which surprised her. She assumed that Cosima would spend more money on exotic home decorations to try and impress her new wealthy friends. 

Delphine set her overnight bag on the floor next to the door. “Leave it, please,” she said to Angela. Angela nodded and went back to her housekeeping duties. 

“Welcome back,” David said, waving from the kitchen. 

“Thank you David,” Delphine said with a smile as she strode towards the main staircase. She made her way upstairs and down the hallway. She found the door to Cosima’s study closed.

She knocked on the door with two short, soft taps. 

“What? I’m reading,” Cosima said from the other side. 

“Hello Cosima,” Delphine said. 

“Oh, hey, one sec.” Cosima hopped up from her chair and made her way towards the door. She unlocked the door and opened it to find her true love standing there.

A cloud of smoke billowed out into the hallway. 

“It’s good to see you,” Delphine said with a smile. 

“It’s good to see you too,” Cosima said. 

“I’m always happy to see you,” Scott said with a wave from inside the room. His attention returned to the water bong he’d been sharing with Cosima.   
“You can come in if you’d like,” Cosima said, opening the door all the way. 

Delphine shook her head. “I’ll pass. It’s difficult to breathe with so much smoke. I think I’ll unpack while you two finish. If that’s alright.” 

Cosima nodded. “It’s perfectly alright. And I’m sorry about what happened. I swear, I never meant to ever let that happen. I don’t know why I did that. It’s been killing me since it happened. It’s all I’ve thought about since you left. It broke my heart to know that I drove you away.” 

“There’s plenty of time to talk about it later. Enjoy your time with Scott.” She ran her fingers over Cosima’s cheek and smiled. 

Delphine started walking down the hallways towards her sanctuary room. She stopped in midstep and turned towards Cosima, who was watching Delphine go. “Oh, what’s going on next door with your friends?” 

Cosima looked at Delphine with a puzzled look. “What do you mean?” 

“There’s a ton of moving vans outside. It looks like they’re moving out.” 

“Weird. They didn’t say anything about moving out. They were talking about doing an extension, but that wouldn’t require moving vans.” 

“You can see for yourself. There were six trucks outside when Sarah dropped me off.” 

“Yeah, okay, I’ll take a look,” Cosima said as Scott packed another bowl. “In a bit. I’ll look in a bit.” 

“Come on Cosima. It’s your turn to hit this,” Scott said. 

“Gotta go,” she said, closing the door. 

“It’s good to be home,” Delphine said with a laugh.


	16. Chapter 16

The sun rose over the estate, rousing Cosima and Delphine from their slumber. Cosima had gone to bed after a day of partying with Scott. Delphine opted to sleep in her sanctuary. 

Despite the different rooms, they woke up nearly simultaneously. 

Delphine decided she would get up and do something nice for Cosima as part of her return home. She made her way towards the kitchen wearing a pair of boxer shorts and a white cami. 

Once in the kitchen, Delphine grabbed a large bowl, a griddle pan, a whisk, and some pancake mix. She began whipping up some batter in order to make Mickey Mouse pancakes. 

She had just poured the first pancake onto the butter-coated griddle when she heard a scream echoing throughout the house. Given the size of the property, it was a hellacious scream. 

Delphine dropped the spatula to the floor and began sprinting through the house. Her feet slapped the naked tile and hardwood floors as she made her way towards the source of the scream. 

Cosima was standing in the hallway outside of her office when Delphine arrived. Cosima was white as a ghost and shaking. 

“I heard a scream,” Delphine said. “What’s the matter?” 

“It’s gone.” 

“What’s gone? What are you talking about?” 

“All if it. It’s all gone.” Cosima sounded like a zombie as she spoke. 

“What? What’s all gone?” 

“All of it. There’s nothing left.” 

Delphine waved her hands in front of Cosima’s face. “Hello. Earth to Cosima. You there?” Cosima didn’t respond. She continued staring off into space and repeating the same things. 

“I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what is going on,” she said, imploring Cosima to talk to her. 

“We’re broke. Penniless. There’s nothing left. Nothing at all.” Cosima sank to the floor. She dropped with enough force to cause the entire floor to shake. 

“What do you mean? How did this happen?” Delphine asked. 

“Lester and Heather. They tricked me. They betrayed me.” 

“I knew I didn’t like those people,” Delphine said with a fist. “They were slimy human beings.” 

“I don’t know what to do. I honestly don’t know what to do. We’re broke. We can’t afford the staff. We can’t afford the taxes on the house. We can’t afford to buy anything. We can’t return the cars. We can’t do anything.” She broke down crying as she spoke. Tears began to form puddles on the hardwood floor where she sat. 

Delphine kneeled beside her. She placed a hand on Cosima’s thigh. “We’ll figure it out. I promise, we’ll figure it out.” 

“This is all my fault.” 

“Non!” Delphine exclaimed in French. “This is their fault. They did this, not you. We’re going to find them and we’re going to get the money back. This is unacceptable. We should form a posse. Do people form posses in Canada?” 

“No,” Cosima said, laughing through the tears. “They don’t form posses in Canada.” 

“That’s disappointing. I always wanted to be part of a posse.” 

Cosima couldn’t help by crack a smile as Delphine began to pretend riding a horse in the middle of the hallway. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?” 

“Only when I need to be,” she said with a smile. “We’ll figure this out.” 

“I know. First, I think we have to call the cops and file a report with them.” 

Delphine ran off to get her cell phone. By the time she returned, Cosima was finishing up a conversation with Art. 

“Thanks Art. Greatly appreciate it,” she said as she hung up the phone. “Art’s going to look into it.” 

“That’s good to hear,” Delphine said. “I think we have to tell the others. They need to know.” 

Cosima shook her head. “No. I’m not telling them. They’re already disappointed with me. This would just make it more so. We’ll just let Art handle Lester and Heather.” 

“I really think that Sarah and Alison and Helena and Felix all deserve to know what’s going on. They might be able to help.” 

“I said no,” Cosima snapped. Her pride was getting the best of her, again. “We’re not going to involve Clone Club any more than we have to on this. I don’t want to be a bigger failure in their eyes.” 

“You are not a failure in anyone’s eyes. Don’t you ever start thinking that you’ve failed anyone.” 

Cosima smiled softly. “Okay. I’ll try and remember that.” 

“Good, now, I’m going to get dressed. You try and figure out a plan on how we’re going to handle this loss. Deal?” 

“Deal.” 

Delphine smiled as she dashed off to her sanctuary. She pulled out her cell phone and began dialing. 

“Sarah, it’s me. We need to talk.”


	17. Chapter 17

Sarah and Felix walked into Alison’s house through the back door. They found Helena, Alison, and Delphine already sitting in the living room. Art was with them via speakerphone. 

“Sorry we’re late,” Felix said. “Someone,” he gestured with his eyes, “spent twenty minutes trying to squeeze into a pair of jeans that she knew she couldn’t fit in to begin with.” 

“Oy,” she said. “Those jeans used to fit. You probably shrank them on purpose because you were jealous all the guys were looking at my arse.” 

“Honey please,” Felix said. “There’s not a man alive, gay or straight, who could resist this derrier.” He smacked his own butt to emphasize his point. 

“Can we get to the issue?” Art asked. His voice filled with static as the speaker on the phone crackled and popped. 

“Of course,” Delphine said. “First, let me say that Cosima cannot find out about this meeting. She said she did not want me talking to you about this, so I need you all to promise you will keep this between us.” 

Everyone nodded and agreed. 

“Good. Now, here’s what happened.” Delphine launched into the story of how Cosima invested with Lester and Heather only to have them take all of her money. She talked about how they fled in plain sight without anyone questioning anything. She let everyone know that Cosima was broke and wouldn’t be able to maintain the home and expenses. 

Everyone listened with their hearts in their hands, as each felt the pain Cosima was going through. 

“So, that’s where we’re at,” Delphine said. 

“Well we have to help Cosima,” Alison said. “We could have a bake sale and raise some money to help out.” 

“Sestra needs more than cookies,” Helena said. 

“She’s more than welcome to stay with Felix and I for as long as she needs,” Sarah said. 

Art’s voice crackled through the apartment. “I’m looking into the thieves. I’ll see what I can do to try and recover as much of the money as I can, but I can’t promise anything.” 

“We appreciate your help, Art,” Delphine said. “Knowing you’re on the case fills me with confidence that justice will prevail.” 

“I have to go. I’ll keep you posted,” he said before disconnecting the line. 

“We need to help Sestra,” Helena said. “I can eliminate bad people.” Her face took on a gleeful smile that was borderline creepy. 

“I don’t think anyone needs to be eliminated,” Alison said. The smile departed Helena’s face. “But we do have to help Cosima. I think I can spare a few hundred dollars from my savings.” 

“I have about two hundred I could donate,” Felix said. 

Sarah nodded. “I have about the same available.” 

“Thank you,” Delphine said. “That’d be enough to put down a deposit on an apartment. It would be a huge help.” 

“That’s what we’re here for,” Alison said. “To help each other out. That’s what family does.” 

“Family!” Helena said throwing her arms up cheerfully. 

“We’ll help anyway we can. We don’t have much, but what we have is yours,” Sarah said. 

Delphine began to cry at the gesture. “You guys are the best,” she said as tears flowed along her cheeks. “I’m lucky to have friends as good as you all.” 

“Family!” Helena said again. 

“Family, of course, Helena. Family,” Delphine said. 

The clones all converged on Delphine, wrapping their arms around her, as she wept at the kindness of her adoptive family.


	18. Chapter 18

Cosima showed up at the address Sarah had texted her. It was a nice apartment located less than a mile away from DYAD. She was puzzled by what was going on at this address, as Sarah’s text only said ‘Meet me here. Now.’ and the address. 

Cosima wasn’t sure what to expect, but knew that Delphine was behind it in some way. 

She climbed up to the third floor where the address was located and knocked on the door. The door gave way with each knock, revealing a small apartment filled with her sisters and friends. 

“What’s all this?” she asked. Her face showed her skepticism at what she was seeing.

“It’s your new home,” Alison said with a smile as Helena held up the keys. 

“My new home?”

Delphine nodded. “I told them what happened and they insisted on helping out. So they pulled together their money and helped get this place for us. They put down the deposit and paid the first three months rent in full, thanks to some strings Donnie was able to pull at the leasing office.”

Cosima was on the verge of tears. “You all did this for me? Even after how I treated all of you? After how I hurt Delphine?” 

The group nodded. 

“Absolutely we helped,” Felix said. 

“You’re family,” Alison added. 

“Family,” Helena cheered. 

“We all do things we’re not proud of. My whole life until I met you was a series of things I wasn’t proud of. Now that I have you, I’ve become a better person. We know you’ll do the same,” Sarah said. She opened her arm wide. Cosima slipped inside and hugged her sister. 

Each member of Clone Club took their turn in hugging Cosima and showing how much they cared. 

Delphine finished her moment with a kiss. Cosima blushed. 

There was a knock at the door which brought their moment to an end. Felix opened the door. Art was standing there, just as serious as ever. 

“Am I too late for the party?” he asked with the closest thing to a smile he could muster. 

“You’re just in time,” Cosima said, wiping away the tears. 

“Good, because I have some good news and some bad news.” 

“What’s the good news?” Delphine asked. 

“We were able to capture Lester and Heather. They were attempting to cross the border into the United States, near Buffalo, New York. We captured them and were able to recover some of the money they stole from you two.” 

Cosima looked at Art with concern. “What’s the bad news?” 

Art reached into his pocket and pulled out a check. He handed it to Cosima, who unfolded it. 

“Four dollars and twenty three cents?” she said. “That’s it?”

“That’s more than most people ever see in this cases,” Art said. “But yes, that’s all we were able to recover. There’s a slim chance that we’ll find more of the funds they stole in time, but it appears they either moved them offshore into accounts we cannot touch or they spent it.” 

Cosima sighed. “Thanks Art. I appreciate everything you’ve done. I’m grateful for this.” 

“You’re welcome Cosima.” He turned to leave. He reached the door and opened it. Before he stepped out, he turned back to face the room. 

“Oh, and Felix,” he said. “Next time you think about buying lottery tickets, just don’t. Okay?”

Art closed the door as Clone Club laughed together for the first time in ages.


End file.
